Tag: picnic

Chicken and olive sausage rolls

A lighter filo wrapped sausage roll with punchy flavours of chicken, olive, capsicum and feta

Today I am sharing another quick and easy make-ahead lunch idea. You can read about my other recipes here: curry pumpkin muffins, haloumi, olive and sundried tomato loaf, spring chicken salad and pork pasties.

I love sausage rolls, but often find that they leave me with an unpleasant feeling of having over-indulged in pastry all afternoon! I made these rolls with filo, which is a little lighter and simple to work with.

A lighter filo wrapped sausage roll with punchy flavours of chicken, olive, capsicum and feta

I decided to change things up by using chicken mince (or I might have had leftover from making a chicken dish for my baby 😉 !). I am a big fan of adding flavour punches to my cooking at the moment, so this recipe has added olives, roasted red capsicum and feta. All the prep required is a simple mix together of the filling ingredients and then roll them up! You can enjoy them fresh out of the oven, or freeze the leftovers for a busy day when lunch prep is not an option, but neither is a boring cheese sandwich.

chicken_sausage_rolls_3A lighter filo wrapped sausage roll with punchy flavours of chicken, olive, capsicum and feta

Chicken and olive sausage rolls

  • Servings: makes 8 rolls
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Ingredients

  • 250g chicken mince
  • 8 green olives, sliced
  • 1 roasted red capsicum, cut into thin strips
  • 50g feta, crumbled
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 sheets filo pastry

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius. Grease a baking tray with spray oil.
  2. Mix together the chicken mince, olives, capsicum, feta, egg and salt and pepper.
  3. Lay out 2-3 sheets of filo pastry, spraying a thin layer of spray oil in between each.
  4. Spread one quarter of the filling along the bottom half of the pastry in a long sausage shape. Roll upwards to form a log and spray the top of the pastry. Cut in half and place on the baking tray. Continue three times more to create 8 sausage rolls.
  5. Bake for 30 mins or until golden and flaky, and the chicken is cooked through.

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Tuna and sweetcorn frittata muffins

A simple tuna and sweetcorn muffin to ward away the munchies

I am currently posed with the problem of being at home a lot more than I have ever been, yet having less free time to cook extravagant things than I ever have before.

I decided to try out a really simple baked frittata recipe that uses a muffin tray and pantry ingredients. The result was some very cute little tuna and sweetcorn bites that have served so well as a late afternoon snack. Munching on one of these while I prepare dinner has satisfied my gnawing hunger, without filling me up for the main event. Solves the urge to eat peanut butter straight from the jar!

A simple tuna and sweetcorn muffin to ward away the munchies

They take 10 mins to put together and about the same in the oven. Definitely something I can manage on a Sunday afternoon to set me up with substantial snacks for the week.

A simple tuna and sweetcorn muffin to ward away the munchies

Tuna and sweetcorn frittata muffins

  • Servings: makes 8
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Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • Salt and pepper
  • 95g tuna
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup grated cheddar
  • Zest of a lemon
  • 1 tsp dried chives

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius and grease a muffin tray using spray oil.
  2. Whisk the eggs and season them with salt and pepper.
  3. Stir through the remaining ingredients.
  4. Pour the batter into the muffin tray.
  5. Bake for 20 mins in the oven or until set. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Haloumi, olive and sun dried tomato loaf

Salty, crusty and golden haloumi bread with olives and sun dried tomatoes

As I have written about previously, I am always on the lookout for a delicious, easy, on-the-go lunch option, for example, my curry pumpkin muffins. Today I present to you another option: haloumi, olive and sun dried tomato loaf.

Salty, crusty and golden haloumi bread with olives and sun dried tomatoes

There is no kneading, no rising, nothing of the waiting nature. Simply combine the ingredients, stir through your flavour bombs, and bake. That’s the hardest part – waiting for the loaf to be ready to eat!

Salty, crusty and golden haloumi bread with olives and sun dried tomatoes

Crispy edge, dense and tasty interior. Keeps well for a few days in an airtight container. No need for any extra toppings, but you totally could cover it in avocado, or bacon, or a poached egg…you know, the usual.

This was a smash hit with my family. I hope it goes down well with you too!

Salty, crusty and golden haloumi bread with olives and sun dried tomatoes

Haloumi, olive and sun dried tomato loaf

  • Servings: approx. 8 slices
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Ingredients

  • 450g plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 280ml water
  • 2 eggs
  • 200g haloumi, diced
  • ¼ cup black olives, sliced
  • ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius. Grease a loaf tin with spray oil.
  2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.
  3. Whisk together the oil, water and eggs.
  4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and bring together to form a dough.
  5. Stir through the haloumi, olives and sun dried tomatoes.
  6. Pour into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 mins until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

Lemon quiche

A tangy lemony quiche with smoked salmon and capers

I have always been a Francophile. Ever since I can remember. Perhaps it all began with the children’s TV series Madeleine. I remember watching episodes when I was young, soaking in the faux French accents and absorbing the cartoonish Parisian landmarks.

In school I learnt French as a second language, all the way up to university. Since, I have visited France several times. I especially love French food. My birthday celebration this year involved dining at a French restaurant.

A tangy lemony quiche with smoked salmon and capers

To me, a quiche is the epitome of my childhood ideal of ‘French cuisine’. I have grown very fond of making a quiche in recent years, and once you have the hang of the pastry and timings, it is actually very simple to make one from scratch. And the flavour combinations are endless!

A tangy lemony quiche with smoked salmon and capers

Gardens are rife with lemons this time of year, and I wanted to hero it in my quiche recipe. This quiche is deliciously lemony and tangy, with some smoked salmon thrown in there for good measure. I am loving this milder weather and think this is the perfect light dinner for early Spring evenings, and could even be enough motivation to contemplate an outdoor picnic!

A tangy lemony quiche with smoked salmon and capers

Lemon quiche

  • Servings: 6
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Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 240g plain flour
  • 160g unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup water

For the filling:

  • 1-2 lemons, sliced
  • 100g smoked salmon for cooking
  • 200g crème fraiche
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbs capers
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Juice of one lemon

Directions

  1. To make the pastry, beat the butter and flour together in a mixer using a dough attachment. Add just enough water to bring the pastry together into a ball. As soon as the pastry comes together, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 mins or until needed.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius. Grease a quiche flan with spray oil.
  3. Take the pastry out of the fridge, and sprinkle the worktop with flour. Roll out the pastry until it is big enough to cover the base of the quiche flan. Line the flan with pastry and trim the edges. Weigh down the pastry with baking paper and baking beads, and blind bake the pastry case for 20 mins in the oven.
  4. To make the filling, whisk the eggs and crème fraiche together. Season, and add capers, lemon zest and juice. Stir to combine.
  5. Remove the pastry from the oven and lower the heat to 160° Celsius. Remove the baking beads and baking paper. Line the pastry case with an even layer of the smoked salmon, and pour in the egg filling.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20 mins. Add lemon slices on top of the half-set filling decoratively. Continue to bake for about another 10 mins or until filling is set.